Estonia, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, was settled by hunters soon after the ice retreated; Pulli on the Pärnu River, from about 9000 BCE, is the oldest known site. Its Finnic-speaking farmers, seafarers and traders lived in self-governing counties led by elders, and the islanders of Saaremaa were feared raiders across the Baltic.

German crusaders and the Danes conquered the counties between 1208 and 1227. For almost seven centuries Estonia was ruled from abroad: by the Danish kings, the Livonian Order and the prince-bishops, then by Sweden and, from 1710, by the Russian Empire, while a Baltic German nobility held the land and the Hanseatic towns grew rich on trade.

Freed from serfdom in 1816–1819, Estonian peasants bought their farms, founded newspapers and song festivals and became a modern nation. Independence was declared in 1918 and won in the War of Independence, but the republic was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazi Germany in 1941 and by the Soviet Union again from 1944, years of deportation, war and exile.

The Singing Revolution restored independence in 1991. Estonia joined NATO and the European Union in 2004 and became known for its digital state. Explore the ten ages below through selected events from the timeline.